Chapter 48: Bu Jingyun Battles Wuming

The three-day deadline arrived in the blink of an eye. Duan Fengyun and the others woke up early, finished breakfast, and arrived at the Imperial Mausoleum to wait for Wuming.

As for Wuming, he also rose early to have breakfast, then quietly entered Jian Chen's room. Seeing Jian Chen still fast asleep, he smiled slightly and, just as he had done for ten years, tucked the quilt in for him.

He took the Hero Sword from the table, then quietly closed the door and left alone.

But what Wuming did not know was that the moment he closed the door, Jian Chen opened his eyes. Jian Chen had actually been awake for a long time; he had only been feigning sleep when he saw Wuming enter.

Jian Chen sat up from the bed and muttered to himself, "Duan Fengyun, this time next year will be the anniversary of your death."

Jian Chen tidied up briefly and then followed Wuming all the way to the Imperial Mausoleum.

Duan Fengyun and the others, who had been waiting outside the Imperial Mausoleum for a long time, finally saw Wuming arrive, and Jian Chen, who was tailing Wuming, hurriedly hid upon seeing this.

Although Wuming had been pressing them hard, Duan Fengyun and the others still held this Martial Arts Myth in high regard. They all cupped their hands toward the arriving Wuming and said, "Senior, you have come."

Wuming nodded at them and said, "There is no need for such formalities. I will not hold back; come at me together."

Bu Jingyun stepped out from among them and said, "Senior, this matter all started because of me. Today, I shall compete with you to see who is superior. My senior and junior brothers will not intervene."

Wuming looked at Bu Jingyun in surprise; he had not expected that Bu Jingyun would actually want to fight him one-on-one.

Before he could answer, Bu Jingyun, who always said things that shocked the world, continued, "This time, I will not use the Peerless Sword either. I want to fight you fairly with my own strength."

Wuming could hardly believe his ears; wasn't this behavior from Bu Jingyun a disguised form of admitting defeat?

Only three days had passed; how could Bu Jingyun and the others have changed so much?

Wuming realized there must be some conspiracy afoot, but for a moment, he could not fathom what the problem was.

Wuming thought confidently that no matter what schemes or plots there were, he would break them with force.

Wuming looked at Bu Jingyun and said, "Bu Jingyun, I don't care what medicine you are selling in your gourd. I am determined to take the Peerless Sword today, but since you say you want a fair fight with me, I will grant your wish today. I will only use my left hand to fight you later. If I use my right hand, I will admit defeat, and you may take the Peerless Sword as you please."

To the side, Duan Fengyun, seeing his scheme succeed, was overjoyed. Everything was going according to the script he had designed; Bu Jingyun would definitely be able to defeat Wuming.

Wuming stuck the Hero Sword into the ground, placed his right hand behind his back, and signaled with his left hand for Bu Jingyun to begin.

Bu Jingyun handed the Peerless Sword to Duan Fengyun and struck directly at Wuming with the Cloud-Seizing Palm.

Duan Fengyun, who had fought a great battle with Wuming before, had not noticed Wuming's techniques. Now, observing carefully, he finally understood the gap between himself and Wuming. A Wuming at full health was truly worthy of his reputation.

Wuming effortlessly dismantled Bu Jingyun's attack, which had been like overturning seas and mountains. Wuming's entire aura was natural and seamless, not affected in the slightest by Bu Jingyun's offensive.

Seeing that his attacks had no effect on Wuming, Bu Jingyun, though prepared, was still inevitably a bit flustered due to his proud and arrogant nature.

Bu Jingyun's attacks became increasingly fierce, but also increasingly chaotic, beginning to lack any semblance of order.

Seeing that Bu Jingyun had fallen into a demonic obsession, Wuming used a single finger to repel him.

After Bu Jingyun was knocked back, Wuming said, "Bu Jingyun, your moves are already chaotic. You have lost; hand over the Peerless Sword quickly."

Bu Jingyun raised his head to stare at Wuming, then looked over at Duan Fengyun.

Seeing Bu Jingyun frozen there, Duan Fengyun hurriedly signaled with his eyes for Bu Jingyun to follow the plan.

After Bu Jingyun understood, he threw the Peerless Sword to the side and roared, "Without the Peerless Sword, how can I take revenge? How can I face Kong Ci and my stepfather's entire family? I have failed them."

Having said this, Bu Jingyun channeled all his True Qi and charged toward a nearby artificial rockery. This terrified Duan Fengyun.

He had only told Bu Jingyun to act; he hadn't told him to do it for real! The three of them were so far away from him; now they could only gamble on whether Wuming would stand by and watch.

Fortunately, Wuming was still worthy of trust. Wuming used his left hand to grab Bu Jingyun, who was about to crash into the rockery, and advised him:

"Bu Jingyun, why must you be like this?"

Bu Jingyun stubbornly said, "While the sword lives, I live; if the sword dies, I die."

After saying this, Bu Jingyun shook off Wuming's left hand and continued to charge at the rockery. In his eagerness to save a life, Wuming momentarily forgot the wager, brought out his right hand from behind his back, and used both hands to grab Bu Jingyun.

Seeing the hands holding him, Bu Jingyun laughed and said, "Senior, you have lost."

Wuming only then realized he had fallen for a bitter-meat trick. He sighed; as the Martial Arts Myth, he had to honor what he had said. He had indeed lost.

He said to Bu Jingyun, "Bu Jingyun, I have lost this match today. Take the Peerless Sword, but I hope you will use this sword well and not cause disaster in the martial arts world."

Duan Fengyun and the others on the side rushed up excitedly to surround Bu Jingyun. Duan Fengyun replied to Wuming:

"Please rest assured, Senior. We are all upright and honorable people; we will not harm the world."

If anyone else had said this, Wuming might have believed it a little, but coming from Duan Fengyun's mouth, he did not believe it at all.

The outcome of the match was decided, and the group did not linger. Duan Fengyun said to Wuming, "Senior, we shall part ways here. When I have time, I will definitely go to Zhonghua Lou to support your business."

Wuming felt a wave of embarrassment; this guy had better not come, he should stay far away from him.

"Want to leave? You aren't going anywhere today. Today is the day of your death."

A voice that Duan Fengyun and the others were extremely familiar with rang out from the side.

The group, who had been laughing and joking, stopped. Bu Jingyun shouted angrily, "Xiongba."

A person walked out from the side; this person was none other than Xiongba. Following closely behind him were a crowd of lackeys from the World Sect and someone Bu Jingyun and Wuming never expected—Jian Chen.

It turned out that after Jian Chen had been held at sword-point by Duan Fengyun that day, he thought of all the evil deeds Duan Fengyun had committed against him, and he now wished to get rid of Duan Fengyun as quickly as possible.

Now trapped in a demonic obsession, he finally found the lackeys of the World Sect and informed them that Duan Fengyun and the others were to fight Wuming at the Imperial Mausoleum in three days, hoping to use Xiongba's hand to eradicate Duan Fengyun and the others.

After receiving the news, Xiongba did not stop to rest and rushed over from the World Sect to meet with Jian Chen.

Upon receiving Jian Chen's confirmation and Xiongba's promise not to harm Wuming, the two sides reached an agreement: after Duan Fengyun and the others finished their battle with Wuming, Xiongba would emerge to clean up the aftermath.

But they had calculated everything except that this battle was actually a one-sided wager between Bu Jingyun and Wuming. Duan Fengyun and the others had not participated in the battle at all, so their combat strength had not been depleted in the slightest.

Moreover, Bu Jingyun had actually defeated Wuming, and Xiongba and Jian Chen's plans had completely fallen through.

Wuming stared at Jian Chen beside Xiongba, his face full of disbelief. He could not believe that the successor he had cultivated since childhood would actually commit such an act of betrayal.

Bu Jingyun, filled with hatred, roared at Jian Chen, "Jian Chen, I never thought you were such a petty person. What benefits did Xiongba give you that you would actually defect to Xiongba and become his lackey?"

Jian Chen replied, "Bu Jingyun, don't speak so harshly. Sect Leader Xiongba and I are just helping each other. I provide him with information about you, and he helps me kill you."

Wuming looked at Jian Chen with a pained heart and said, "Chen'er, why are you like this? Did I not teach you from a young age to act with integrity and be an upright person?"

Jian Chen replied painfully, "Master, this disciple has not forgotten, but all of this boils down to him."

Jian Chen pointed his hand at Duan Fengyun. Duan Fengyun was dumbfounded and muttered, "Big Brother, what did I do to offend you? Why are you targeting me? I only played a few jokes on you, is it really worth this, Big Brother?"

Jian Chen pointed at Duan Fengyun and said angrily:

"Everything is because of you. When I first entered the jianghu, I was defeated by your hand; in the Sword Pool of the Sword Casting Villa, you destroyed my Hero Sword; a few days ago, when you were no match for my master, you took me hostage to threaten him. Duan Fengyun, what grudge or enmity do I have with you? Why do you target me at every turn? Today, only one of us will walk out of the Imperial Mausoleum alive."

Xiongba looked at Duan Fengyun and the others, mocking them: "You are all like rats crossing the street, shouted at by everyone to be beaten. Today, I will send you to meet the Kong Ci you have been longing for day and night."

It would have been better not to mention this, but at the mention of it, Duan Fengyun and the others were all furious, wishing to eliminate the Xiongba before them immediately.

Bu Jingyun was the first to charge forward wielding the Peerless Sword, followed by Duan Fengyun, Nie Feng, and Qin Shuang, who all drew their weapons and charged as well.

After the battle with Wuming, the fluid, seamless coordination of the group made Xiongba's desire to kill them grow ever stronger.

How much time had passed, yet the strength of these few had all improved by a level. The weapons in their hands were also top-tier divine armaments; he must eliminate them today, or there would be endless trouble.

Just as Duan Fengyun and the others were preparing to fight Xiongba to the death, Wuming stepped forward and said:

"Today's events were all caused by my disciple. As his master, I must take responsibility for everything he has done."

Wuming looked at Xiongba and said: "Guild Leader Xiong, your Under Heaven Society is already the number one guild in the jianghu; why must you drive Duan Fengyun and the others to their deaths?"

Xiongba looked at the man before him, once the number one expert in the martial arts world and now the Martial Arts Myth, and said: "Wuming, I respect you as a hero of your generation. Today's matter is an internal affair of my Under Heaven Society; please do not interfere, otherwise, do not blame me for being heartless."

Wuming shook his head and replied: "I am determined to handle this today. After today, you may do as you please, Guild Leader Xiong."

Upon hearing this, Xiongba laughed loudly: "Good! Today, let me fight you, this Martial Arts Myth, and see just how formidable the Martial Arts Myth really is."

Hearing this, Duan Fengyun and the others tried to stop Wuming: "Senior Wuming, today's matter is a grudge between us and Xiongba; please do not interfere."

Wuming replied: "I stand by what I just said. After today, you may do as you please, but today I will not let you fight Xiongba."

Unable to sway Wuming, the group had no choice but to give up.

The once number one person in the martial arts world, now the Martial Arts Myth, Wuming, would engage in a fierce collision with the current number one person in the martial arts world, Xiongba.